Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 1).djvu/552

 commenced his tour of inspection of every part of the ship, ascertaining for himself that every oar was sound and in its place, and the rowers on each bench thoroughly well trained and effective. He then as carefully examined the men at arms, crossbow-*men, steersmen, and sailors, testing their various accoutrements and appointments to see that everything was in order; the different departments of the ship were then minutely gone over, including his own cabin, which was generally in the lower range of the poop or under the upper deck.

Everything being now ready for departure, the rowers, at the sound of a trumpet, simultaneously moved their oars; but if the wind was fair, the oars, at a given signal, were as simultaneously thrown upwards, the sails set, and the vessel under full pressure of canvas proceeded on her voyage. A general holiday usually accompanied the departure of a fleet. In Venice, these rejoicings were celebrated with even greater pomp and magnificence than that which characterized almost every public solemnity of the middle ages. The Doge, with the dazzling pageantry of his court and council; hundreds of gay gondolas covering the placid waters, which flowed from the Adriatic among the numerous islets upon which the proud city had been erected; senators in their scarlet robes, and the élite of the Venetian dames, famed for their grace and beauty, and arrayed in the gorgeous dress of the period, constituted a display of wealth and grandeur never since surpassed. But a dark cloud overshadowed those gay and glittering scenes. The galley slaves, with their hideous misery, or reckless daring, formed a saddening